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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166847">Fireworks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319'>MamaBear7319</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Too many characters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:55:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,903</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166847</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>"That's ridiculous Zeke. Killing me isn't going to suddenly give you whatever life you think you're supposed to have. From what I've seen you're incredibly smart. Use that to help people. Imagine what you could do."</em>
</p><p> </p><p>  <em>Anger flowed through Zeke. "I know what I can do. I'm better than you are. Smarter, more capable." Zeke raised his hands and watched the electricity spark across his fingers. "By the time I was 14, I was designing bio weapons, not wandering off on field trips. By the time I was the age you are now, I had figured out how to upgrade myself so I wouldn't have to rely on clumsy armor. I will eventually make Stark tech obsolete, just like you and Tony already are." The sparks were growing more cohesive with Zeke's every word. "Imagine how perfect it was when I found out you couldn't tolerate electricity." The cohesive glow extended into a full energy blast. Zeke knew Peter couldn't move out of the way in time. He couldn't wait to hear him scream.</em></p><p>Part of a series, probably helpful if you read some of the stories leading up to this on.  Or, just throw caution to the wind and read on...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [20]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934734</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Home For Summer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Finals came and went. The boys packed up and returned to New York for the summer. Peter was currently laying on the floor of the living room, letting Morgan use his back as her play area. According to her, he was a mountain that was going to wake up and knock everything off. Tony walked into the living room coffee cup in hand. "How was last night?"</p><p>Peter rotated his head slightly so he wouldn't disturb whatever Morgan was building. "Amazing! You have no idea how much I missed it. Miles has finals all week so there won't be two of us, we'll work something out for the rest of the summer."</p><p>Tony smiled at Peter's enthusiasm. "When does MJ get back?"</p><p>"This afternoon." He glanced over at his dad. "Is anyone going to tell me how many times someone tried to grab her?" It had been an ongoing argument. Peter had suspected there had been an incident a couple weeks ago but MJ wouldn't tell him anything. She had video called him to prove that she was ok but Peter could tell something had happened.</p><p>"Just the one time. Nakia made sure that they would think twice about coming after her again." Tony sat back and watched Peter process what he had just said. It had been a long discussion that had ended up involving not only himself and MJ but also Pepper, Steve, Natasha, T'Challa, and Nakia. It had happened in the middle of everything with Harry. Tony suspected they were hoping to lure Peter and maybe even Wyatt away from Boston so they could contain Harry themselves.</p><p>Peter growled and looked back at the TV which was currently showing Morgan's favorite cartoon. "You know you should have told me, right?"</p><p>"Not when you're so stressed you're doing 200 ft free falls from skyscrapers." Tony took a sip of his coffee and looked at the back of Peter's head. He smiled when Peter growled again. "When you get done pouting and after MJ gets settled, invite her over for dinner."</p><p>Peter twisted his head around again and gave his dad a look of suspicion. "What are you planning?"</p><p>"Dinner. Think tomorrow will work?"</p><p>Peter scowled at his dad knowing full well it was more than dinner. "Hand me my phone."</p><p>Tony set his coffee on the end table and picked up Peter's phone, handing it to him. "Let's try for a late dinner...maybe 7pm. Here. You can take her home then go out as Spider-Man."</p><p>Peter twisted back around and started typing. "Dad wants to know if you can come over for dinner tomorrow. 7pm. Something is up. Oh...also...you two should have told me...". He hit send knowing he was probably picking a fight. He glanced back down when a message pinged a few seconds later.</p><p>"Ok for dinner. You had other things to worry about. I was fine."</p><p>Peter grumbled at the phone and turned back to his dad. "7 is fine." He felt a tap on his back and he turned to look at Morgan.</p><p>"M'tn wake!"</p><p>Peter smiled and acted like he was yawning and arched his back, letting Morgan's city tumble to the ground. The giggles coming from Morgan made him laugh. He rolled over on top of the toys and started tickling her.</p><p>Pepper walked into the room, slipping on a suit jacket. "Oh good, Peter's taken over the mountain duties." She looked down at Tony. "Did he ask MJ about dinner?"</p><p>Tony nodded. "7 is good."</p><p>Peter looked up at Pepper. If Pepper was involved maybe it was SI related. But then why would they want MJ there. Maybe it was parent related...but that didn't make any sense either. Except for the break last year, MJ and Peter had been in a relationship for years and there had never been any kind of 'talk' involving both of them.</p><p>"Wheels...turning...stop over analyzing." Tony nudged him with his foot. "What are you doing today?"</p><p>Peter shrugged. "I thought I'd see if Ned wanted to do something. If he's busy I may see if Johnny and Wyatt are free. Or I may just go out as Spider-Man."</p><p>Tony nodded. The only reason he was ok with Peter going off by himself in the city was because there wasn't anywhere that he couldn't get to in less than 2 minutes and Pete could hold his own for more than that long. They had increased the watch's energy tolerance and the nanotechnology automatically deployed the suit if a change was detected.</p><p>Peter grabbed his phone again and typed out a quick text to Ned. "Are you free today? I thought maybe we could hang out. Maybe hit Delmar's for lunch?" Peter hadn't seen Ned since the incident in California. By the time Ned had made it back to New York, Peter had been in middle of the incident with Harry and trying to make it through finals. It didn't take long for a return text.</p><p>"Can you come by the apartment?"</p><p>Peter smiled and typed his response. "Be there in about an hour." He rolled over and looked up at his dad. Morgan had crawled up on the couch and snuggled next to him. "I'm getting dressed then heading over to Ned's. I'll let you know if I go out as Spider-Man."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Peter took the steps at Ned's apartment building two at a time. It almost felt like old times. Knocking on the door he could hear Mrs. Leeds' footsteps on the other side. He smiled when she pulled open the door. "Hey Mrs. Leeds!"</p><p>"Hi Peter. Ned is in his room." She closed the door behind Peter.</p><p>Peter made his way through the familiar apartment. Ned's door was half open so he pushed it all the open and walked in. "Hey Ned!"</p><p>Ned lunged to his feet and bear hugged him. "Hey! How were finals?"</p><p>Peter shrugged. "They were finals. I'm glad to have a break for a couple months." Peter slid into Ned's desk chair as Ned sat back down on his bed. "How are you doing?" Peter scrutinized Ned. He looked like he had lost a little weight but not in a good way.</p><p>"I'm ok after what happened in California." He twisted his head around to show Peter the back of his neck. "Didn't even leave a scar." Turning back around he looked at Peter and lowered his voice. "Mom on the other hand is completely over reacting. I think I've only left the house by myself twice since coming home. You have got to break me out."</p><p>Peter chuckled. "It can't be that bad."</p><p>Ned shook his head. "It's worse. She's afraid something will happen so she won't let me out of her sight. I'm about to resort to sneaking out but I suspect she might have put an alarm on my window."</p><p>Peter shook his head and tapped his watch. "Karen, scan Ned's room for any kind of sensors or alarms on the doors and windows." A moment later 'No devices found' appeared on the face of his watch. He flipped it around to show Ned. "You're clear."</p><p>Ned laughed. "I don't know...she probably has other ways..."</p><p>"Let's go down to Delmar's. I haven't had a smushed sandwich in ages." Peter stood up and waited for Ned to join him.</p><p>"You're going to have to convince mom." Ned looked up at Peter and sighed as he stood up.</p><p>Peter led him out of his room. "Mrs. Leeds, were going to run down to Delmar's. Can we pick anything up for you?"</p><p>Mrs. Leeds started to object but between Ned's pleading face and Peter's innocent one, she couldn't say no. "You'll come right home?"</p><p>A smile spread across Ned's face. "Yes. Delmar's and back."</p><p>Mrs. Leeds looked over at Peter. "Is your father in the city today?"</p><p>Peter thought it was an odd question until he realized that she was asking about Iron Man. "He's at the tower." He held up his watch. "Panic button still works." After the incident at the 2nd homecoming dance it had become common knowledge among his friends that Peter had a panic button on his watch and that was how Tony had gotten there as quickly as he had. Peter smiled at Mrs. Leeds again. "We'll be fine."</p><p>Mrs. Leeds grimaced. "I suppose." She glanced over at Ned. "Delmar's and then home."</p><p>Ned was almost bouncing. "Of course, love you mom." He darted out of the apartment with Peter trailing behind him. Once the door closed he glanced back at Peter. "We are taking the long way."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>MJ glanced down at her watch. "Roof?" She smiled and glanced around her room that was in complete disarray. It was almost 11pm and she felt like she had been unpacking most of the day. She knew both of her parents were asleep but she still didn't want to risk going out the front door so she pulled her window open and climbed up the fire escape. Climbing onto the roof she saw Peter crouched by the edge looking at the city below. "Hey!"</p><p>Peter rose and turned around, a smile immediately appearing across his face. "Hey!" Meeting halfway, he felt MJs arms wrap around his neck. He had missed this. He had missed her. When they had gotten back together they had done it with the knowledge that they were in different cities. Now, the anticipation of being able to spend the summer together was almost overwhelming. Kissing her, he murmured "I've missed you."</p><p>MJ pulled back after a few minutes and looked at Peter. "So my parents dropped a bombshell on me when I got home. They're moving. Out of New York. The lease runs out of on the apartment at the end of July so they're going to transition over the next two months."</p><p>Peter frowned, "You can't move. It makes no sense for you to move for a month just to head back to Princeton."</p><p>MJ sighed. "I know. I'm not sure where I'm finding an apartment for a month or how I'm paying for it."</p><p>"Move in with me."</p><p>MJ almost laughed, "Tony and Pepper might have something to say about your girlfriend living with you."</p><p>"That's not what I mean. The tower has a gazillion rooms. Dad built out the entire floor below ours when he moved the Avengers there when he was remodeling the compound. Plus Pepper had guest suites added on the lower floors for SI VIP guests." It was the perfect solution in Peter's head. Plus MJ would be even closer then.</p><p>MJ studied Peter. She could see him already planning out moving her into the tower. "Maybe. We can ask them tomorrow."</p><p>Peter was already cycling through which area would be best and whether it made sense for her to even move stuff from her parents apartment. Most of the rooms were already furnished. "I'll talk to dad in the morning." He looked back over at her. "Ok, problem solved. Anything else need to be fixed?"</p><p>MJ laughed and pulled him over to one of the walls and sat down, pulling him down next to her. "You know that's one of the things I love about you. I think a lot of guys would have been more interested in the fact that they could potentially shack up with their girlfriend for a couple months. You're just solving the problem."</p><p>Peter frowned, "MJ, I don't see us as a short term thing that would ever involve 'shacking up'..."</p><p>MJ could see Peter's anxiety over her comment rise exponentially, "Good, neither do I. When I asked to get into the boxes I intended to stay in the boxes, you know that, right? I'm not going anywhere."</p><p>Relief spread through Peter although it was quickly replaced by even more anxiety. If he wasn't going anywhere and she wasn't going anywhere it meant they'd be together...forever...which meant married? Maybe not, Tony and Pepper didn't get married for a really long time. He realized he didn't know her stance on that. He also didn't even know if she wanted kids, or not. He didn't know if he wanted kids...he wasn't even sure if he could have kids. Gamma radiation tended to cause problems and that was one he wasn't sure if the Spider fixed or not. The entire 'spider-babies' conversation with Pepper came roaring back into his head. It came to a crashing halt when MJ leaned over and kissed him.</p><p>"How many steps out did you get? Marriage? Kids?" MJ smirked at him.</p><p>Peter took a deep breath and nodded. He loved that MJ knew where his brain headed and was always able to center him. "We haven't talked about any of that. Do you even want to get married? How about kids?"</p><p>MJ spun around to face him with her legs crossed in front of her. "Married, yes. But probably not until after graduation. Kids...I'm open. I probably don't want to jump into having kids but maybe eventually."</p><p>Peter looked at her. "What if I can't. Gamma radiation tends to mess with...well, a lot of stuff."</p><p>"Then we adopt if we want kids. Or, we don't have kids. It's not a make or break thing for me." She grabbed his hands and held them. "Did we answer all of the big questions?"</p><p>Peter smiled. "MJ...I love you."</p><p>MJ smirked in response. "I love you too."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dinner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter bounced his legs sitting at the kitchen bar waiting for his dad to take a couple sips of coffee.</p>
<p>"Spiderling...you're about to vibrate out of your seat." Tony took another sip of coffee. He always found it entertaining when Peter was bursting to tell him something.</p>
<p>"So MJ's parents are moving and they're planing on being completely out of their apartment by the end of July and it doesn't make sense for MJ to move to just head back to Princeton a couple weeks later. So I was thinking that she could move in here...well, not here here but tower here. Either where the Avengers were or maybe one of the guest suites SI has downstairs." Peter took a breath. "What do you think."</p>
<p>Tony looked over the rim of his coffee cup. His brain was still catching up with Peter's mouth. "Where are they moving?"</p>
<p>"Minnesota. How crazy is that? Her dad got a job with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester." Peter's knee was still bouncing. "So what do you think?"</p>
<p>"I think it's not a bad idea. We can talk about it tonight." Tony took another sip of coffee. "So how are you two doing?"</p>
<p>Peter froze. He really hadn't been expecting a dad talk. He had been so focused on the problem at hand he had shoved the rest of the conversation from last night out of the way. "Uh...good. Really good actually." Peter frowned. "So we talked about maybe future things."</p>
<p>"Maybe Future things?" Tony smirked. It was fun when Peter was uncomfortable about a subject.</p>
<p>Peter took a deep breath. He actually wanted to talk to his dad about some of this. "Future thing's like when we graduate." He frowned a little while he tried to figure out what he actually wanted to talk about. "Like maybe getting married. I mean we're way too young for it now but when we're both done with undergrad maybe." He looked over at his dad. "What do you think? Is it stupid to even talk about this now? Is it fair to MJ? Spending the rest of your life with Spider-Man is a lot to ask."</p>
<p>Tony smiled. "I think MJ is good for you. And Spider-Man isn't too hard to handle. She's already in the boxes. She knows what to expect." He took another sip. "I do think waiting until you're out of college makes sense." He put his coffee cup down and looked at Peter. "What about the rest of it?"</p>
<p>Peter took another deep breath. "She said kids aren't a deal breaker for her and that she's be ok with any of the options."</p>
<p>"And you." This was the part Tony was worried about. He knew the risks the gamma radiation had posed to Peter probably better than Peter did. The radiation that he had been hit with when he had been bitten by the Spider was fairly low but it didn't take much. Peter had never exhibited any side effects so it seemed like the Spider was dealing with anything that might come up. But, while Dr. Cho screened Peter for all of the 'scary stuff' as Peter called it, checking to see if he could actually have kids wasn't one of the things they checked.</p>
<p>"She mentioned that she would even be ok adopting which isn't something I've thought about but now that she's said it...". He looked over at his dad. "If it weren't for May and Ben I could have easily ended up in an orphanage. So the idea of adopting has some appeal."</p>
<p>Tony smiled, as always the kid surprised the heck out of him at every turn. Peter was so good with kids. He was great with Morgan but Tony has also seen how he interacted with kids at the hospital over the years. "I think you and MJ have your heads screwed on straight and will be fine with whatever you decide to do."</p>
<p>Pepper walked into the kitchen. "You two look way too serious for this early in the morning."</p>
<p>Tony picked up his coffee and finished it. "Pete asked if MJ could move in and I said sure." He grinned over the rim at Peter before walking over to the coffee pot to refill it.</p>
<p>"That's not exactly what I said." Peter turned to Pepper. "He parents are moving so she'll need somewhere to live before heading back to Princeton. I thought maybe downstairs or one of the SI guest suites."</p>
<p>Pepper glanced over at Tony briefly before smiling at Peter. "I think its a great idea. If MJ is ok with it we can redesign the floor below us."</p>
<p>Peter looked between Pepper and Tony. Something was definitely up but before he could say something Morgan jumped up into his lap.</p>
<p>"Mtn!"</p>
<p>Peter swung her into the air and carried her over to the living room. "Ok but only while dad makes breakfast. Then you have to eat." He stretched out on the floor and waited for the metropolis to be built.</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Peter waited for MJ to get into the elevator before stepping in behind her. FRIDAY already knew where they were going so she closed the door behind Peter and started the ascent to the top of the tower. MJ crossed her arms and looked at Peter. "And you have no idea what we're about to get surprised with?"</p>
<p>Peter glanced over at the display showing floors. "Not a clue." He still wasn't comfortable with MJ going anywhere by herself so he had driven over to pick her up. The elevator slowed as it approached their floor. Softly coming to a stop the doors slid open.</p>
<p>Pepper and Tony were in the kitchen finishing dinner. Pepper carried plates to the table. "Good timing!"</p>
<p>MJ and Peter made their way to the kitchen and helped carry everything else to the table. Sitting down they looked across the table at Pepper and Tony who had sat down opposite of them. Peter leaned back in his chair and crossed is arms. "How far into dinner are we going to have to get before you tell us what's going on."</p>
<p>Pepper laughed as she placed a napkin in her lap. "It's nothing horrible." She glanced over at Tony who just shook his head and took a bite of lasagna. "There's an SI event on Saturday."</p>
<p>Peter looked at both of them before leaning forward and taking a bite himself. "And you want me to stay in and watch Morgan?" He still couldn't figure out what was going on.</p>
<p>"No. We want you to go." Pepper still hadn't taken a bite of her food, but instead looked across the table at Peter and MJ. "Both of you."</p>
<p>Peter froze with his fork midway to his mouth and looked across the table at them. He had never had to go to anything SI related. Before, it had been because they had managed to keep the fact that Tony was his father a secret. Then, once it came out it there was a massive attempt to keep both him and Morgan out of the spotlight. He looked over at his dad with a look of panic on his face.</p>
<p>"It's not the end of the world. We thought this event in particular would be a good way to ease you into it. It's a kickoff event for a partnership between SI and Wakanda to provide the technology needed to equip some of the areas in Africa with clean water and schools." Tony took another bite of his lasagna. He knew the idea of attending an 'event' would completely freak Peter out. It had been a stroke of genius when Pepper suggested this particular event as an entry point into SI.</p>
<p>MJ leaned forward. "Why now?" The question was 100% directed at Pepper. She knew Tony could care less about most of the SI stuff and had always done his own thing. So the fact that he was on board with asking Peter to go meant there was a larger plan.</p>
<p>"It's no secret that Peter is Tony's succession plan. We've put off having him involved because we wanted him to get through college and get a little older before exposing him to all of this. The board of directors have a different opinion. They wanted him at the board meeting last year. We said no. This is our way of controlling exposure." Pepper saw the look of sheer terror on Peter's face and wondered if it had been a mistake to shield him as long as they had.</p>
<p>Peter felt MJ reach over and squeeze his hand which had dropped to his lap. He looked over at Pepper. "I'm assuming I can't just say no."</p>
<p>Tony shook his head. "You can say no. If you're not ready we can manage the board. It's not like either one of us is retiring anytime soon."</p>
<p>Pepper took a bite of her salad. "We wanted MJ here because this affects her too. The more you're involved in SI, the larger the spotlight is...on both of you."</p>
<p>Peter picked up his fork again and took a bite, using the fact that he was chewing as time to think. "If we say yes, what does that mean?"</p>
<p>"For Saturday it means both of you need clothes and we need to talk about logistics. For the long term it means you will both have some additional annoyances in your life." Pepper looked over at MJ. "We'll have to play security by ear. The fact that you already have a panic button helps but we'll have to actually have someone in Princeton that can respond. Assuming the current threat is resolved before you head back and Nakia isn't still your roommate."</p>
<p>Tony leaned back and looked at MJ and Peter. "You can say no but if you're going to say yes we need to know by tomorrow so we can start planning."</p>
<p>Peter frowned and looked over at MJ who was looking at his dad and Pepper. She leaned forward. "Can we see the plan that we would be supporting?"</p>
<p>Pepper smiled and stood up to retrieve a tablet. Handing it to MJ she sat back down. "I thought you'd want to see it. Everything is on there." Pepper took another bite of her salad and took a sip of water. "After dinner why don't you both head downstairs. You can look through the information without us leaning over your shoulder. Plus, Tony drew up plans to renovate the floor. Thought you could also see if you wanted any changes."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Peter and MJ exited the elevator on the floor below. Not much had changed but there were plans spread out on the table. MJ sat down on the sofa and started reading through the information Pepper and given her.</p>
<p>Peter stopped at the table and looked at the construction plans spread out. He glanced around the room, then looked back at the plans, matching up new walls with old walls.</p>
<p>MJ looked up when he turned around and looked at a wall then back the plans, confusion on his face at first but then a smile. "What?"</p>
<p>"He's mirroring the upstairs floor but he moved the master suite." Peter looked over at MJ. "He moved it to under where my room is upstairs." He could tell she didn't understand the significance of it. "Tony and Pepper's room upstairs faces a major road but has a great view of the city. My room faces the alley but you can see the river and there's a building I can web to on the other side of the alley." He smiled again. "He's not just renovating this for you. He's planning on us living here in the future. Together."</p>
<p>MJ smiled. "It makes sense. Security is already in place. SI takes up the bottom five floors. It would be convenient." MJ pulled Peter down next to her. "What are you thinking?"</p>
<p>Peter shrugged. "I'm shell shocked. I knew I'd have to do some SI stuff eventually I just always figured it was later...perpetually later."</p>
<p>MJ tucked a leg up and shifted to look at Peter. "Do you want SI?"</p>
<p>"Yes...maybe." He turned to look at her. "I mean I'm terrified I'll screw it up but I like being able to create things. Things that actually help people. What dad's been able to do with the arc reactor technology is life changing for some areas of the world. After Rhodey got hurt and then even more so after May got hurt, the biotech division has made so many huge leaps in the field. Everything from prosthetics to nerve regrowth technology. Those are all really good things." He looked down at the tablet. "Plus it lets them contribute to thing's like this." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "What do you think?"</p>
<p>MJ took a deep breath. "I need to finish reading but everything you said is right. SI gives us the ability to change people's lives for the better. I think that's a good thing." She glanced down at the tablet. "So far, what they're proposing looks amazing. Some of the areas they're targeting are some of the areas I spent time in last summer as well as some areas you...well Spider-Man you have spent some time in. If they can make it work it would go a long way towards eliminating the warlords who hold those areas hostage."</p>
<p>Peter smiled at MJ. "We're leaning towards going, aren't we."</p>
<p>"I think we are." MJ sighed. "Maybe Pepper will be less over the top than Natasha was for Homecoming."</p>
<p>Peter laughed. "Maybe this time someone won't try to kill me."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. MOMA</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter pulled up to the curb and put the car in park. He was already dreading opening the car door but it wasn't like he could drive off now. He could, it just wouldn't be taken very well. He glanced over at MJ who had a mask of calmness. "Are you ready?"</p><p>"No, but the sooner we get in, the fewer cameras we have in our face." MJ looked over and smiled at Peter. There had been a ridiculous amount of discussion over how they would get to the event. It was finally decided that if they drove themselves it would appear that they were interested in attending and not that they were being forced to attend by Tony and Pepper. Tony and Pepper would show up later, which was not outside the norm for Tony.</p><p>Peter took a deep breath and opened the car door, handing the keys to the valet. Walking around to MJ's side he opened the door and helped her out. Hand in hand they walked the short distance to the front doors and walked in. MJ was stunning so he hoped they were looking at her and not him. He'd be more than happy to jump in front of a bullet, train, car...whatever as long as she took the spotlight with the cameras. Of course, he wasn't sure if she was aware of this particular arrangement.</p><p>He and MJ walked into the room and he immediately scanned it. He had looked at the schematics of the building as part of the security arrangements so he knew where all of the egress points were. He also knew who was security. He spotted T'Challa and Nakia on the other side of the room so they made a beeline towards them.</p><p>Nakia hugged MJ. "You look amazing."</p><p>MJ shrugged, "Pepper has good taste. As always the two of you make a magnificent couple." She looked over at T'Challa, "Your majesty."</p><p>"It's barely tolerable when I'm called that by strangers, for my friends to do it is unforgivable." T'Challa smirked. He reached over and shook Peter's hand. "I am glad you and MJ decided to come. Your father and I have been working on this initiative for quite some time. It is a joyous occasion to finally celebrate its commencement."</p><p>Peter nodded. "I read through a lot of the implementation timelines. I think we can speed it up some." He looked over at MJ who squeezed his hand. "And MJ and I want to come over for some of the initial start up."</p><p>T'Challa smiled and looked at Nakia. "We may finally get Peter and MJ to Wakanda together. I should have known all it took was a science project."</p><p>MJ laughed. "Yeah...all it ever takes is a science project with him." She looked around the open lobby of MOMA. "Did you coordinate the exhibit with this event? It's a great touch." Her eyes roamed over the various pieces of African art that decorated the lobby and atrium.</p><p>"I cannot take credit for it. Pepper arranged everything. She has a knack for putting together events. We've been to several other functions and they are all spectacular." Nakia looked around the room herself. There were some phenomenal pieces from all over the continent of Africa.</p><p>MJ took mental notes. She wasn't sure she could ever fill Pepper's shoes. After their shopping trip she realized that while Peter was Tony's succession plan, when she and Peter got back together, she became Pepper's succession plan. Part of her loved the idea. MJ thought she and Peter could work as well together as Tony and Pepper had. The other part of her was just as terrified as Peter. What if she messed it up.</p><p>She looked back at the group when several people walked over and started talking to T'Challa and Peter. She felt Peter tense slightly next to her and glanced over at him. The expression on his face hadn't changed but she could feel the tension through his hand. If it were nerves it would have been all over his face which meant it was Spider related. She looked at the each person in the group of five that as currently standing in front of them. She couldn't figure out what was setting Peter off. The group left a few moments later, but before MJ could ask him about it, Nakia pulled her over to meet someone. She glanced back at Peter to make sure he was ok before greeting a dignitary from one of the countries targeted with the program.</p><p>Peter watched MJ and made sure Nakia was staying with her before focusing on T'Challa again. "How many of these things do you have to do in a normal month?" T'Challa was completely at ease and Peter envied him.</p><p>"This is my least favorite part of my job. Before my father died I was given a lot of latitude. Now, I attend functions. Some are better than others." T'Challa smiled at Peter, understanding that he hadn't been brought up in this environment. "You'll get used to it over time." He studied Peter. He thought he had detected a brief moment of unease coming from him before. Maybe it was just that he was uncomfortable in the setting. He looked towards the door and recognized the three individuals walking through. "I believe you know them?" He nodded towards the door.</p><p>Peter turned and looked towards the door and smiled. "T'Challa, I'll be back in a minute." Peter walked towards the door to intercept the group that had just entered. "Johnny! Why didn't you tell me you'd be here?"</p><p>Sue smiled at Peter. "It took us a couple days to convince him to come. I probably should have just asked Tony if you were planning on attending."</p><p>Johnny has a look of relief on his face when he saw Peter. "I can't tell you glad I am that you're here. Wyatt refused to come. I was worried I was going to be stuck in uncomfortable conversation all night."</p><p>Peter laughed. "Tony and Pepper roped us into it a couple nights ago. So far I haven't died of embarrassment and no one has tried to kill me. It's a big improvement over just about any other time I've had to get dressed up for an event."</p><p>Johnny clapped him on his shoulder. "The night is still young."</p><p>Peter laughed. "Come on, I want to find MJ. I left her with Nakia."</p><p>Johnny followed him through the growing crowd. When the finally caught sight of MJ, Johnny leaned over. "Man, I don't think you realize how lucky you are."</p><p>Peter grinned. "Trust me, I'm aware."</p><p>The duo walked up to MJ and Nakia. MJ felt Peter slip his hand into hers. "Peter, this is President Bruhari of Nigeria."</p><p>Peter reached out to shake the man's hand. He wasn't sure when his life went from kid from Queens to meeting and interacting with heads of state. "It's nice to meet you President Bruhari."</p><p>Johnny leaned over and kissed MJ's cheek. "Glad to see you're ok. And, by the way, Peter does not deserve you." He smirked at MJ.</p><p>MJ laughed. "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."</p><p>Johnny shrugged, "Neither did I until last night. Sue made me come." He looked around and realized he had lost track of Sue and Reed. "Speaking of, I probably need to figure out where they are. I'll come find you all in a bit."</p><p>Peter and MJ watched him walk off. MJ turned her attention to Peter, now that Nakia and the Nigerian President had moved on to another group. "I felt you tense up before. What's wrong?"</p><p>Peter shook his head. "I don't know. Something triggered my Spidey sense. Just do me a favor and stay with Nakia if you aren't with me."</p><p>MJ nodded. "What time do you think your dad and Pepper will get here?"</p><p>Peter shrugged. "Knowing them maybe another hour?" He looked over at her. "I think we're doing ok so far, right?"</p><p>MJ nodded. "Definitely. It's like we talk to Kings and Presidents every day."</p><p>Peter laughed. "Yeah, I'm not sure how we got here."</p><p>MJ shook her head. "Can we grab some water?" She pulled Peter over to the bar that had been set up and grabbed two glasses. Taking a sip she turned when Nakia walked up next to her.</p><p>"I have someone else I want you to meet." She pulled MJ with her leaving Peter to people watch. He glanced around the room trying to figure out if he recognized anyone else. His eyes landed on Johnny who was walking towards him.</p><p>Johnny stopped next to Peter. "Amanda's here."</p><p>Peter glanced up at him but kept his face neutral. "Just here to see the art?"</p><p>Johnny shook his head almost imperceptibly. "Zeke. He's here."</p><p>Peter clinched his jaw and immediately found MJ. She was still talking to Nakia. At least she had protection. "Do we know where?" Peter thought he had a fairly good idea who he was, he just wanted confirmation.</p><p>"Brown hair. Your height.". He glanced over Peter's shoulder. "T'Challa's headed this way."</p><p>"Peter...is something wrong?"</p><p>Peter could tell T'Challa was already tense, as if he knew before he came over that something was wrong. Peter took a sip of his water. "We may have a problem. One of the guys involved in the recent problems is here."</p><p>T'Challa nodded and touched a button on his watch. He glanced over and watched Nakia glance down, then gently take MJ by the arm, leading her quietly to a predetermined area. Okoye fell into behind them. T'Challa looked back over to Peter. "They are safe."</p><p>Peter nodded. He filed the silent notification idea away. It would be handy to have. "Brown hair, my height. He was in the group from before."</p><p>"The group that you reacted to?" T'Challa scanned the room.</p><p>Peter frowned. He knew damn well he hadn't reacted. He couldn't wait to get to Wakanda now and figure out how T'Challa did the things he did. "Yeah."</p><p>T'Challa's eyes roamed across the room. "I do not see him. I suggest we split up." He slipped a bracelet off his wrist and pulled off two beads, handing one each to Johnny and Peter. "Squeeze the bead when you see him. It will notify me." T'Challa headed off to the side of the room and started moving through the crowd.</p><p>Peter looked at Johnny. "See if you can find Amanda again." Johnny nodded and walked past Peter. Peter scanned the crowd. Eyes landing on a mix of people his Spidey sense triggered. He headed towards the group. As he got closer a couple of the people moved away, revealing a man, probably late 20's, brown hair, about his height was staring at him. Peter's Spidey sense ramped all the way up and he squeezed the bead, trying not to crush it. Unnerved by the fact that the man hasn’t broken eye contact Peter made his way towards him.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Success</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before Peter could get close, another group of people walked between them. By the time the area cleared he just caught the back of the man rushing towards a side door. Picking up the pace he grabbed the door as it was closing.</p><p>Quickly looking around he saw that the door led to an open side gallery that had been closed off for the event. Between reviewing the schematics and field trips here in high school, he had a pretty good feel for the building. Seeing a figure dart through the room Peter took off after him, activating the Iron Spider as he ran.</p><p>The figure reached a door at the far end of the room and pulled it open. By the time Peter got there he could hear him running up the stairs to the second floor. He knew there was a balcony that ran around the top of this gallery and connected to several others so he stepped back into the gallery and climbed up the wall. Whoever he was chasing was fast...faster than he should be unless he was enhanced. He vaulted over the clear glass that made up the balcony's railing and landed as the figure opened the door.</p><p>Peter expected him to run the other way. Instead, the man ran towards him. He was prepared for the inevitable kick to his midsection but it still hurt. The man was definitely enhanced. Flicking a wrist, he shot a taser web. The taser landed but the charge didn't seem to have an affect. His Spidey sense triggered and he flipped up and back as the man lashed out again only this time, the kick was followed by a punch. Peter grabbed them man's fist and squeezed before twisting sideways and launching the man into the wall.</p><p>Spinning around, Peter was surprised to see the man recover fairly quickly. He narrowly avoided a back kick. Deciding he needed to bring this to an end sooner rather than later, he took advantage of the fact that the man was slightly off balance and shot a web at his foot yanking him to the ground.</p><p>The man stared at him for a moment then smiled again. The man raised his hands, Peter saw bits of blue lighting sparking off his fingers. The small sparks rapidly increased in size and surged into Peter's chest. The dampeners dispersed the entire charge and Peter fired another volley of webs, webbing the man's feet to the floor.</p><p>Using the electricity he internally generated, the man broke through the webs and sprung to his feet. Before he could get his bearings the Spider landed a kick in his chest driving him backwards again. Preparing another charge, the man raised his hands to fire again. The sparks from the man's fingers turned into full bolts of energy that hit a black figure square in the chest. The Black Panther had landed between him and the Spider, his suit absorbing the energy.</p><p>T'Challa discharged the build up from the electrical burst at the man on the floor. The man rolled out of the way and avoided the brunt of the blast, looking up as the Spider flipped over the Black Panther and landed on the other side of him effectively trapping him between the two. Looking at Black Panther and then at Spider-Man, the man smiled again before vaulting over the edge of the railing.</p><p>Peter and T'Challa watched him run across the gallery and crash through a window leading outside. T'Challa put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "We should not pursue. This attack doesn't make sense. There is more at play here."</p><p>Peter nodded. "Karen, scan video footage around the museum and see if you can trace him." Peter looked over at T'Challa and retracted the mask. "Thanks for the save. Could you tell how much energy he put out?" Peter was already running the numbers in his head. He knew vaguely how vibranium absorbed and transferred energy. The blast the T'Challa produced after absorbing the charge was significantly large.</p><p>T'Challa chuckled, "Shuri can pull the data." He retracted the Black Panther suit and waited for Peter to retract the Iron Spider fully. "We should return to the reception."</p><p>Peter nodded and grimaced slightly. He was pretty sure the first kick had cracked a rib. He looked over at the stairs and then back over the balcony. He looked up at T'Challa and noticed he was doing the same thing. In unison the both vaulted over the balcony railing and landed smoothly on the floor of the gallery.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Tony and Pepper walked into the museum. People were used to them showing up after events had been going for a while so they were treated with the normal exuberance. Tony glanced around the room. Not seeing Peter, MJ, or T'Challa he had FRIDAY scan the room.</p><p>"Boss, Peter has deployed the Iron Spider. He is currently in the room to the far right. I am also detecting one individual with explosives in the main room."</p><p>Tony looked over as a member of the Dora Milaji walked over to Pepper. "Mrs. Stark, Ms. Jones would like you to join her for a moment."</p><p>"Go ahead honey, I'll go find Peter and join you." Tony smiled at Pepper and watched to make sure she was secure. "FRIDAY, analyze explosives. Is there a kill switch and will I trigger it if I use a repulsor blast?"</p><p>"I am not detecting a kill switch. A high level repulsor blast should disable both the explosives and the carrier. I suggest aiming for his midsection."</p><p>"Ok. Paint my target." His glasses functioned as a HUD and his target was illuminated. He walked determinedly towards him, greeting various people as he made his way across the room. "FRIDAY, is Peter ok?"</p><p>"I am detecting a vibranium enhanced charge. I believe T'Challa is with him. Peter's vitals are within normal ranges."</p><p>Tony neared his target. A low profile gauntlet had formed in his palm. "FRIDAY, let's try not to destroy anything. Pepper won't speak to me for a week if I mess up the event."</p><p>"Understood boss."</p><p>Tony grinned to himself then plastered on his public appearance facade. Reaching the target in question he smoothly placed the non-gauntlet hand on his arm, looked the man in the eye and then fired the gauntlet at his midsection. He tightened his hand around the man's arm to prevent him from collapsing then dragged him the short distance to the door leading into a side gallery. To any observer not looking too closely, it just looked like the guy had too much to drink and Tony was just escorting him out of the room.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>T'Challa and Peter paused as the door leading to the main room opened. Both of them tensed until they saw Tony dragging a body through the door. "Dad?"</p><p>Tony unceremoniously dropped the man on the floor. "Hey kid. Everything ok?"</p><p>"Sure. It wouldn't be an event without someone trying to kill me." Peter glanced at the body on the floor then over at T'Challa. "You were right about there being more going on." He glanced back at his dad. "Zeke was here."</p><p>Tony set his jaw. "Have Karen send your feeds to Nat. She's working on ID'ing him."</p><p>Peter nodded. "I want to go check on MJ." He glanced down at the body on the floor. "What are we doing with him?"</p><p>"I will have one of my people take care of it." T'Challa looked at Tony. "I believe that now that you are here we should make our remarks announcing the initiative."</p><p>Tony nodded in agreement. As the were walking back out into the main room, Tony turned to Peter. "Did you two do any damage that I need to be aware of?"</p><p>"Hole in the wall and a broken window. Overall my destruction rate is way below yours." Peter smirked at his dad as they walked back into the reception as if nothing was out of the ordinary.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Tony and Pepper returned to the tower after what most would consider an incredibly successful event. Not only was it the kickoff to the initiative, it was also an invitation to a select group of people to contribute. Tony and Pepper were both thrilled that multiple people had come up to them to tell them how impressed they were with Peter and MJ. Even though no announcement had been made, their intention to physically be involved in the initial start up next month had spread quickly throughout the reception and had spurred on not only contributions exceeding Pepper's expectation but had also turned into multiple groups also wanting to also physically be involved. Trips were already being planned to assist in construction the infrastructure needed for the schools. SI and Wakanda were providing the bulk of the support but Pepper was encouraged and thrilled that so many were wanting to contribute not only money but also their time. Pepper leaned over and kissed Tony on the cheek as the elevator rose to the top floor. "Thank you for not blowing anything up tonight."</p><p>"I'll have you know that I gave FRIDAY very specific instructions about it not turning into a full battle. I thought we all did a good job." Tony slipped his arm around Pepper. "And Peter didn't destroy anything that isn't fixable."</p><p>Pepper laughed as the doors slid open. "Peter is no where near as destructive as you are." The lights in the main area turned on as they existed. Frowning Pepper looked at Tony. "I expected him to be here. They left before us. FRIDAY, where is Peter?"</p><p>"Peter is currently asleep downstairs."</p><p>Pepper looked at Tony, frowning. "Are we okay with that?" Since they knew the reception would go late, MJ had already planned on spending the night at the tower.</p><p>Tony shrugged. "In this case he is actually asleep. I think he cracked a rib during the fight. He'll be out all night." Slipping off his suit jacket he smirked at Pepper. "Besides, he'll be 19 in August. He's not a kid anymore."</p><p>Pepper frowned. "I know." She slipped off her heels and scooped them up. "I just always think of him as a kid." She smiled. "They did great tonight."</p><p>Tony nodded. "They did." Tony was incredibly proud of both of them. He was glad Peter had agreed to go.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>"What were you thinking! You could have exposed our plan if you had been caught."</p><p>Zeke looked at the older man. "Your plan, not mine." The events of tonight had achieved what he intended. He knew the Spider's suit could absorb his energy blasts. He also knew they were evenly matched. Taking him on one on one would not be a wise move. He also thought the Spider could probably take on a fair number of Ross's super soldiers. If Stark was in New York, the Spider would have backup. Which meant if he wanted to take him, it would require a different approach. He looked up at the older man. His tolerance for him was coming to an end.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Decisions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Natasha looked at the group assembled in the compound operations room. After Karen had sent Peter's suit feeds she had been able to finally identify Zeke. She told Tony earlier so he wouldn't be blindsided with it. She also knew he hadn't had a chance to talk to Peter. Peter, Johnny, and Wyatt had picked up Bobby and Davis. They wanted to make sure that everyone involved had the information in light of what had happened at the reception. No one was sure what the next move would be or how Ross was connected to what had happened Saturday. She waited for everyone to settle into their seats before putting a still from Peter's suit feed on the screen. "After Saturday's incident we have a face to go with the name. And after a lot of digging we have his full name. This is Ezekiel Stane...Zeke. And if you think the name sounds familiar it's because he's the son of Obadiah Stane." Natasha paused and looked over at Tony. She noticed Peter had looked over and locked eyes with Tony before turning back to the screen.</p><p>Tony pulled himself away from the credenza he had been leaning against. "Obadiah Stane as in the guy that hired the Ten Rings to kill me and then tried to kill me himself. Nat had to go pretty far down in order to locate Zeke. He was well hidden."</p><p>Natasha nodded, "He was never publicly acknowledged by his father although I was able to trace the money forward after Obadiah's death. He left a sizable amount to Zeke which enabled him to become the fixer he is today. Once I had a picture I was able to trace some of what he's been mixed up in over the last ten years. He has connections to the mob, to AIM, he's even done work for Hydra. He has loyalties to none. As far as I can tell, he's never had a home base. He is 100% mobile."</p><p>Bucky leaned forwards. "We're thinking he's after Tony and Peter?"</p><p>Natasha nodded. "Best guess is use Peter to get retribution for his father's death."</p><p>Bucky looked across the table at Peter. "You and Tony need to take Pepper, MJ, and Morgan to Wakanda and stay there until this is over."</p><p>Peter shook his head. "I'm not running."</p><p>Sam leaned back in his seat next to Bucky. "It's not running. It's being smart. There's enough fire power in this room to take him on. If you and Tony are here it's just a liability."</p><p>"We'll talk about this later." Peter looked over at Natasha. "How is he connected to Ross?"</p><p>"We think Ross took care of him after his father died. Got him the money, probably explained the situation. Prior to Obadiah's death we don't think Zeke knew about him." Natasha flipped a series of pictures on the screen. "This is some of Zeke's work." There were pictures of various individuals with all sorts of prosthetics and bio enhancements. "He's more than capable of helping Ross figure out Osborn's super soldier formula. And, if Ross is making a move on mutants, Zeke can definitely provide the firepower."</p><p>Clint hopped off of the counter he had been sitting on, "Ok, where?"</p><p>Steve stood up next to Natasha. "That is the question of the day. Zeke has always been mobile and has proven to be incredibly hard to trace. We started looking at Ross's movements." He pulled a map up on the screen that showed various lines and dots. He pointed to a cluster. "We think he's in New York. We're just not sure where. So, when he comes up for air he'll be tracked. He's scheduled to speak at the UN in a couple days. We'll put a tail on him and follow until he leads us to Zeke." He glanced over at Natasha before looking back at the group. "Until then we're in a holding pattern. We'll use the time to gather our resources."</p><p>The meeting broke up. Wyatt, Johnny, Bobby, and Davis looked at Peter. "You need to go to Wakanda."</p><p>"I'm not hiding." Peter knew this wasn't going to be the only time he had this conversation today. He figured Nat would corner him at some point. Steve would give him a lecture about sometimes leadership means letting other people handle something. Bucky would be obnoxious about it. He and his dad would probably get into a fight about it. He wasn't looking forward to any of it. "Ross will lead us to Zeke and then it'll be over."</p><p>"You know it won't be that simple." Wyatt pushed his chair back. "I'm going to talk to Nat about her putting me on the team that tails Ross."</p><p>The other three boys saw Tony walking towards them. "We're going to see what Steve needs by way of resources." Bobby looked down at Peter. "Professor X will want to assist if they're needed. We'll have to start coordinating." All three boys stood up and left Peter sitting at the table.</p><p>"Come on, lets go for a walk." Tony looked down at Peter.</p><p>Peter sighed and pushed back from the table. Standing up he followed his dad out of room. They walked in silence, side by side, until they got outside. There was a path that led down by the river. "Dad. I'm not running."</p><p>Tony sighed. "Pete, staying makes no sense. You know you're a target and you know how much fire power they have. It is blatantly obvious that Zeke is coming after you."</p><p>"I held my own at the reception. I can do it again." Peter was frustrated that everyone though he wasn't capable of handling this.</p><p>"I'm not saying you can't handle him. No one is. What we're saying is that you don't have to. For once in your life let other people protect you." Tony knew the moment Natasha had told him who Zeke was that he was going to have to convince Peter to leave. And he knew it was an uphill battle.</p><p>"Dad, I'm not running."</p><p>"That decision is no longer yours alone to make." Tony stopped walking when Peter froze.</p><p>"You can't force me to go to Wakanda." Peter crossed his arms and stared at Tony. "I'm not some kid..."</p><p>Tony turned to face him. "No, your an almost a 19 year old who has his entire future in front of him. And I wasn't talking about me. The second you let MJ into the boxes meant that she has a say in what happens." Tony softened his expression a little, "That's not a bad thing. What you two have is amazing. You owe it to her to include her in this decision because it affects her too."</p><p>Peter frowned and looked over at his dad. "I already know what her decision's going to be. She's going to say go to Wakanda and let everyone else handle it. But what if someone gets hurt."</p><p>"If someone gets hurt it's on Ross and Zeke...not you. What if MJ gets hurt because you chose to stay?"</p><p>Peter shook his head. "Oh, she's going to Wakanda. As are I assume Pepper and Morgan."</p><p>Tony laughed, "Kid, you have a lot to learn about relationships. I think that attitude was what got you into trouble with MJ the first time." He reached over and out a hand on Peter's shoulder. "We're all going to Wakanda. Me included. Sam was right. You and I are just a liability."</p><p>Peter looked at his dad skeptically, "You're agreeing to sit this out?"</p><p>"If it means keeping you, Pepper, Morgan, and MJ safe...yes." Tony watched the emotions playing across Peter's face. "I want to live long enough to see you and MJ get married, I want to watch Morgan grow up. So, yes...I have no problem sitting this one out." Tony considered taking it a step further and guilting Peter into leaving because if Peter stayed he would too. But, he thought Peter was getting there by himself.</p><p>Peter looked past his dad and stared at the river. He didn't like the idea of running from a fight but his dad was making a lot of good points. "I need to think about it."</p><p>Tony nodded. "Don't stay out here too long by yourself. You know you're going to end up with a couple of them worried that you'll just take off to deal with Zeke by yourself." Tony included himself in that count. The only thing that was allowing him to let Peter out of his sight and have some time to work though the idea was the fact that they didn't know where Zeke was.</p><p>Peter forced a smile. "I'm not going to take him on by myself." He watched his dad retreat back up the path they had walked down. He hated the idea of running and hiding. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called MJ. His dad was right, she needed to be part of the decision.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Bridge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter walked back into the operations room to find Bobby, Wyatt, Johnny, and Davis going through various scenarios with Steve and Natasha. Steve looked over at Peter. "Hey..."</p>
<p>Peter held up his hand and cut him off. "I'm going to Wakanda with dad. MJ and Pepper are packing things up at the tower. I think we're trying to leave tomorrow morning."</p>
<p>Steve breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't tell you how glad I am that you made that decision. I know it wasn't easy and against everything in you, but Sam was right. You two are a liability."</p>
<p>Peter sat down in one of the chairs, "My only request is that I want to be kept in the loop. Briefings. Live feed when you go in."</p>
<p>Natasha nodded. "I think we can accommodate that." She walked over and at next to Peter. "I'm glad you and Tony won't be in the middle of it."</p>
<p>Peter frowned. "I'm not. I hate this."</p>
<p>Bobby slid his phone over to Peter. "Maybe this will make you feel better."</p>
<p>Peter picked up the phone and read the message. His eyes darted up to Bobby's. "Gwen's awake?!"</p>
<p>A grin spread across Bobby's face. "This morning. Her dad has been texting me updates. He asked if we wanted to come by and see her."</p>
<p>Peter's expression lit up. "We're heading back to the city in a little while. We can go visit."</p>
<p>Davis shook his head. "I've got to head back to help Professor X with a project." He looked at the others. "I'll be back before the op." Sometimes he felt like public transportation but he figured it was for a good cause. The project was related to wrapping up a mission so Jean and Scott could get back if they were needed.</p>
<p>Wyatt and Johnny looked at Bobby and Peter. "We're in, but we're headed in an opposite direction after. Ben is working on controlling his strength so we want to go check on him. If Abomination is still around we may need him for the op. He didn't want to risk damaging anything so he's on a farm in Jersey. We'll have just enough time to run in and say hi. Think you two can make it back to the tower ok?"</p>
<p>Peter didn't think twice about it. "We'll take the subway to the tower." He glanced over at Bobby. "You can just take my car back. It's not like I'll need it."</p>
<p>Steve looked at the boys. "Is that the best idea?"</p>
<p>Peter shrugged. "The reception was the only time Zeke has reared his head. I'm still not sure why he risked it but it's not like I'm being stalked like I was before. My Spidey sense hasn't gone off once."</p>
<p>Natasha shook her head. "Tell Tony what your plan is first. Please."</p>
<p>Peter rolled his eyes. "I'll tell him. It'll be fine though."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Peter and Bobby walked out of the hospital, both with smiles on their faces. The fact that Gwen had been as hurt as badly as she was had weighed heavily on all of them. But, she was awake and the doctors were telling them that with some therapy she should make a full recovery. Peter knew Dr. Strange had consulted on her treatment which made him feel much better about her prognosis.</p>
<p>The subway station was across the street from the hospital. Crossing the street, they stood on the platform waiting for the train. Peter glanced around, his Spidey sense hadn't triggered once. It didn't make him less cautious, Natasha had drilled awareness into his head over the years. But, it did give him peace of mind. He stepped onto the train car after Bobby and they both grabbed a handle. It wasn't long until the artificial light thinking through the windows from the platform turned to black indicating they were in the tunnel. Peter had never loved being underground. He preferred the train lines that ran above ground. When he was in school, he had loved riding the roofs of trains which you couldn't do underground. He didn't think people truly understood how tight some of those passages were.</p>
<p>He had turned to ask Bobby a question when he felt a hand close around his wrist and squeeze. Pulling against it he realized just how strong the hand was. He could feel it crushing his watch and his wrist. As he turned to fight, his eyes caught sight of Basil. Basil, who has just pulled a gas mask over his face. Eyes darting, he saw people falling to the floor as the gas permeated the compartment. Bobby slipped to the floor next to him. The last thing he remembered were his knees hitting the ground.</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Miles crawled through the service hatch of the subway. He had heard one of the transit workers say that a train had stopped in one of the tunnels. They had stopped all trains on that line and had people headed in that direction but Miles could get there faster. Rounding the corner he could see the train ahead. It looked like it had just stopped. He couldn't see any damage. He started to run towards it until he saw two individuals exit one of the cars. The big guy looked like he was carrying something...someone...over their shoulder. Miles stayed in the shadows to watch for a moment. He sucked in a deep breath when he saw the face of the person being unceremoniously carried. He had never met him without the mask on but it hadn't been hard to figure out who he was. He understood why Peter wanted to keep his identity a secret so he hadn't let on that he knew. A dozen ideas ran through his head but he kept coming back to 'if they took Spider-Man out, what chance do I have'. Peter had told him repeatedly not to jump into a situation until you knew what was going on. So he watched and he followed.</p>
<p>It was easy to tail them in the tunnels. He was actually surprised that they stayed in them as long as they did. When they made their way back up to the street he looked around and saw that they were at the end of the yellow line, near the airport. A van was waiting for them. He waited for it to pull away before going high to follow them. He realized he didn't have to wait long before figuring out where they were headed. The van drove onto the long bridge that left Queens. The only bridge in this area. It was a bridge that only went one place. Rikers Island. After the break out they had proceeded to decommission the entire complex. They had talked about it for years. The damage that had been done during the break out had pushed it to a final closure. He watched the tail lights disappear across the channel. It was one of the few bridges he couldn't swing over because it was just a giant expanse of road supported by thick piles driven into the floor of the bay. The tail lights got dimmer as he turned towards Manhattan and swung faster than he had before.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Are you Ready?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Boss, Peter's tracker has stopped reporting its location."</p><p>Tony looked up from the suitcase he was packing and looked over at Pepper. "Last reported location?"</p><p>"On the subway coming from the hospital to the tower."</p><p>"Show me. And get Steve." Tony walked over and looked at the map of the subway showing where FRIDAY had lost Peter's signal.</p><p>"Tony, what's up?" Steve's voice echoed through the speakers.</p><p>"FRIDAY just lost track of Peter. In the subway coming from the hospital." Tony could hear Natasha in the background with Steve.</p><p>"We're headed your way. Keep us posted."</p><p>It would take Natasha and Steve about 30 minutes to get here. Maybe less if Clint was there and could fly them. Clint always managed to get more out of the engines than anyone else ever could. Tony suspected that had had bypassed all of the safety protocols. Right now he'd be glad for Clint's recklessness if it meant they could get to Peter faster. Tony looked at Pepper. "I want you, Morgan, and MJ in a secure location."</p><p>"Maybe something just malfunctioned in his watch." Pepper knew she was grasping at straws. They both knew the watch hadn’t malfunctioned.</p><p>"FRIDAY, pull up the cameras in the subway. And see what what the train is reporting." Tony traced the tunnel system both ways. There were too many places along the path someone could hide. The cameras showed nothing out of the ordinary, but he hadn't really expected them to. There weren't enough cameras in the tunnels themselves to be of much use.</p><p>"The subway car Peter was in stopped moving 20 minutes ago." Tony frowned. If something had happened 20 minutes ago Peter would have triggered the panic button. He pushed it aside, he could figure out the signal issue once he found Peter. He looked over at Pepper. "Get MJ up here. I'll lock down this floor and use the door below as a command center." He hadn't torn out the ops center yet on Peter and MJ's floor. "FRIDAY, as soon as I leave and MJ is upstairs, lock down this floor."</p><p>"Boss...Mr. Morales just landed on the balcony."</p><p>Tony looked at Pepper. "Go get MJ." Tony walked out of the bedroom. "FRIDAY, open balcony door." He saw Miles pacing on the balcony. "Miles, this isn't a good time." Tony nodded his head towards the living room.</p><p>Miles looked up at Tony as he walked inside and pulled off his mask. "I saw someone take Peter. That's why I'm here." Miles chose to ignore the fact that Tony Stark has just called him by his first name. "I followed them through the tunnels. I know where they took him."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Peter startled awake and immediately regretted the sudden movement. He had thrown both hands out to the side resulting in pain shooting up his left arm. He pushed himself into a sitting position with his other hand. Cradling his injured wrist against his chest he took in his surroundings. It seemed like he was in a jail cell. Using the wall to push himself all the way up he walked over and tested the bars. They didn't give when he squeezed. Ok...so not a normal jail cell. He tried to look down the hall but there wasn't a great angle and he couldn't see much. He could hear some muffled noises a couple floors up. Closing his eyes he listened. He thought there was somebody in the cell next to him. He could hear a heartbeat and breathing.</p><p>He thought back through what had happened on the subway. Basil had used gas to knock everyone out. He didn't think it was lethal. He actually felt ok except for the ache in his wrist. Basil wasn't the one that had squeezed his wrist. Peter couldn't remember seeing a face but he didn't think it was Zeke. Zeke was strong, but not that strong. It felt more like Steve or Bucky strength which meant probably one of Ross's super soldiers. Plus, his Spidey sense hadn't triggered which meant Basil was probably using the controller tech. He held onto one of the bars and kicked the bottom section. He still didn't feel much give. He tried another kick.</p><p>"You're not getting out."</p><p>Peter turned toward the direction of the voice. "Yeah?" He kicked the bar again.</p><p>"Son...that cell was designed for the Winter Soldier. The bars are coated in vibranium. You can't break them."</p><p>Peter gave the bar another kick as he thought through what the man said. 'Designed for the Winter Soldier'. Where the hell was he? "Who are you?" He heard the man move slightly.</p><p>The man chuckled. "Thaddeus Ross."</p><p>Peter stared at the wall separating them. "So, not getting along well with Zeke right now, huh."</p><p>The man chuckled again. "You could say that." He paused for a moment. "I underestimated how much he hates you and Tony."</p><p>Peter paused and looked at the wall. "He doesn't even know me."</p><p>"He doesn't have to. You have what he thinks he should have. He seems to think that if Obadiah hadn't been killed by Tony, he would have eventually acknowledged him and he and Obadiah would have what you and Tony have now." Ross sighed. "I underestimated his delusion. I thought I could use his genius to help me."</p><p>Peter shook his head. "To help you...help you do what?" He kicked the bar again.</p><p>"Help me rid the world of the mutant abomination. They're not human Peter." Ross stood up and walked to the wall he shared with Peter.</p><p>"You're just as delusional as he is." Peter stepped back to give himself enough clearance and leveled a side kick at one of the bars. He tested the bar with his good hand and actually felt a little give behind it.</p><p>"I've seen what those things can do. The Hulk destroyed so many lives. And now Hydra created a whole new threat with that terrigen drug. They're all unnatural and need to be held in check."</p><p>Peter laughed. "So you created super soldiers. Do you even see how ironic that is? You're creating the very thing you're trying to destroy."</p><p>It was Ross's turn to laugh. "They're a means to an end. And there's a difference between something created in a lab and something that doesn't have human DNA."</p><p>Peter shook his head. He backed up again and leveled another sidekick at the bar. Gripping it with his hand he definitely felt movement. "So what's Zeke's plan? Lure Tony here? Kill us both?"</p><p>"I'm not sure at this point. I am pretty sure he's planning to kill me, he just hasn't gotten around to it yet. All I know is that he'll wreck my plans if I can't stop him. I've pushed enough of the mutants to a breaking point where they're bound to lash out sooner or later. When they did, I would have a team in place, ready to take on the threat. Then, once the mutants were exposed, the world governments would have no choice but to look to me for help."</p><p>Peter backed up again and leveled another kick. He was making progress but it was going too slow. "What did you think the Avengers would do? Sit back and watch you wage a war?"</p><p>Ross laughed. "When Tony turned against me he lost an ally. The Avengers aren't quite the picture perfect hero's they once were. Even though they've managed to overcome the tarnish from Slokovia, they now have in their ranks not only the Winter Soldier but also that mutant witch and seem to be making an alignment with the rest of the mutants. You'll see that people don't like those that are different. The world will judge the mutants for what they are."</p><p>Ross's words disgusted Peter but he also knew there was some truth to what he was saying. "The world will probably judge them at first. We don't have the best track record. Between the concentration camps and internment camps in World War II and the entire Civil Rights movement in our county, people for the most part suck. But, like what happened after World War II and what you see now, those actions are condemned by just about everybody. You're on the wrong side of history Ross." Peter leveled another kick at the bar and felt the bar move. He backed up and got ready for another kick when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He paused and stepped closer to the edge of the cell. "Amanda?", he kept his voice low since he wasn't sure what she was doing.</p><p>She reached over and grabbed the bar Peter had been kicking. He watched flames surround her hand as the material melted. She moved onto the bar next to it and worked on creating enough of an opening that Peter could squeeze through. She nodded her head in the direction she had come from, indicating she wanted Peter to follow her.</p><p>Peter held up a hand and walked in front of Ross's cell. "You won't win."</p><p>Ross walked over to the bars. "You're stronger than anyone knows aren't you?" A grin spread across his face. "That means my soldiers should be stronger too."</p><p>Peter shook his head and reached over and broke the lock on Ross's cell. "I'm not letting him kill you like a caged animal." He started to move away but turned back. "You won't win. Guys like you never win."</p><p>Ross pushed the door open. "I'm not stopping my life's mission just because you freed me. It doesn't work like that."</p><p>"I'm not expecting you to. I'm letting you go because I'm not a killer. If I left you here to die I'd be playing a part in your death. What you do is on you. You go after the mutants and you'll have a war on your hands. I hope you're ready for it." Peter turned his back on Ross and followed Amanda down the darkened corridor. He heard Ross shout behind him before heading the opposite way.</p><p>"Are you ready for it Peter?"</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Steve walked over to the boy who looked like he was completely out of his element. He wasn't sure if he remembered Peter looking that shell shocked. Of course by the time Peter was around this many bigger than life people, he was a year or two older and had been working with Tony for a while. "Miles, you did the right thing. Getting to Tony to let him know where Peter has been taken gave us an advantage we wouldn't have had." He reached over and gripped Miles shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "They'll all keep your identity a secret."</p><p>Miles looked around the room. He still couldn't believe he was in the same room with all of these people. He looked over at Captain America. "Do you think he'll be ok?"</p><p>Steve nodded. "Peter is tough. By your getting to us as quickly as you did we'll be able to get to him." Steve left off the rest of it. It had taken them 6 hours to get to Peter when Osborn had him. They were currently sitting at almost two hours now. The clock was ticking.</p><p>Steve looked around the room at the group that was assembling. A couple people were still making their way in. He had been strategizing an attack since they decided to make a frontal assault but it was a lot of people to coordinate. With the headcount they currently had, they would break up into four teams. As tough as it would be to coordinate, he was grateful for their number. Rikers was big. Tony had been able to narrow down the location by tracking Peter's radiation. What they had also discovered was that Ross had used the same radiation on his super soldiers. The amount being emitted was enormous. Tony estimated that Ross had 20 - 25 Super Soldiers at his disposal on top of Zeke's bio-enhanced individuals.</p><p>Tony and Rhodey were leading the air assault with Sam, Wanda, and Vision. The ground teams were the biggest concern. Steve had thought about assigning an Avenger to each team until Nat had reminded him they they already had Avengers with each team. The gas used on the subway wasn't long lasting so Bobby had been awake by the time Steve and Natasha had gotten to the subway car, He and Davis were with a group of from Professor X's school. He had met Jean and Scott previously. He had not met the third one but he was looking forward to getting to know him. He never thought he'd meet someone older than he was. Johnny and Wyatt would lead a team that included Ben, Sue, and Reed. They had known they would need Ben's help with Abomination. Sue and Reed had been a surprise. Tony had tried to talk them out of it, until Reed gave him a glimpse at his powers and assured him that they could handle themselves. Steve had the rest of the Avengers. He hoped that the sheer number would mean they could end this without casualties.</p><p>All eyes in the room darted over to a corner where an orange portal formed. Red cape billowing around him, Dr. Strange stepped through followed by Wong. Stephen looked at Tony as the portal faded behind him. "Are you ready?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Rikers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Peter followed Amanda down a corridor and up a flight of stairs. He heard the muffled sounds above them and put a hand on Amanda's arm to stop her so he could listed. His eyes widened as she jumped at his touch.</p><p>She moved out of arms reach and stared at him a moment. "Sometimes I flame up when I don't mean to." She paused a moment before adding, "People aren't always nice when they touch me."</p><p>Peter heard the pain in her voice. "We can protect you. And, we know people who can help teach you to use your powers...just like Johnny does." He smiled when her expression changed. "I just want to hear what's going on. Where are we?"</p><p>"A prison on an island. It was abandoned after Ross orchestrated a breakout." Amanda smirked, "He was so mad when the Avengers showed up. He had planned to use the super soldiers to show himself as the hero." Amanda looked up to where Peter was looking. She couldn't hear anything. All she knew was that she wanted to get him as far away from here as possible.</p><p>Peter looked at her, processing what she said. "We're on Rikers?" If he was in a cell that had been originally designed for Bucky then that meant he was in the Vault. "How many floors down?"</p><p>"Five. We need to keep moving."</p><p>Peter shook his head. "I need to know what's going on before we walk into it. And I need to know where Zeke is."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Tony checked down on everyone's location on his HUD. They could tell based on the radiation where the Super Soldiers were...which was currently all in the lower levels of the Vault. Since all of the radiation signatures were emanating from the lower levels he knew Peter had to be safely out of range.</p><p>The Vault had a fairly sophisticated detection system as well as an entire defense grid. Both of which Tony was intimately familiar with since he had designed most of it. Since they had taken the entire island offline most of the systems had been dismantled, but Tony knew some of the passive monitoring systems would still be available. FRIDAY was masking their approach to the island but they still had to go in fairly hot. The plan was to create enough of a distraction that the other three teams could hopefully portal in without being noticed.</p><p>"Ok everyone. Light em up!" There was something satisfying in creating a light show that could only be described as spectacular. The city of New York would probably appreciate the fact that they were completely demolishing most of the structures on the surface.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Davis closed the portal behind him. Their group of five had entered on one of the upper levels of the Vault. Since they had zero intel on what to expect, none of the teams were portaling to a floor that showed a radiation signature. He watched as Logan made his way towards the stairwell that would lead to the lower levels. He glanced over at Bobby who just shrugged and followed.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Zeke looked up when they heard the first explosion. Even multiple stories down it would have been hard to miss the bombardment that was occurring above. He looked over at one of the soldiers. "Take a group down to the cells and make sure our visitor is secure. He will be their target so expect them to come." He watched the soldier nod and leave the room. He glanced over at Basil. "You're sure the controller tech is working and you can control them all?"</p><p>Basil nodded. "I'm not controlling them, just removing the urge not to stop fighting regardless of what happens. That is what you want, right? For the fight to continue until you get what you want?"</p><p>Zeke nodded. "We can always make more." He focused again on the project at hand. He needed to be able to disable the Iron Man armor. He had been able to cannibalize enough of the tech over the years to be able to have a working knowledge of it. The AI system was impressive but at the end of the day it was just a computer. He picked up the devices. "Stay here. I need something out of the other lab."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Steve held up a fist to bring their group to a halt. Wong had portaled them to a floor right above a group of radiation signatures. They had already made it down a level and Steve could hear movement ahead of them. The fact that they were in the Vault meant that they had full schematics and weren't having to walk around blindly. He sent Clint and Bucky down a hall that would loop around hopefully allowing them to trap the group they were coming up on.</p><p>Natasha slipped taser disks into both hands and followed Steve as they progressed down the hall that led to an open area. Keeping to the shadows they could see light in the distance. Tensing for a fight they proceeded forward. She heard the familiar thunk of an arrow finding its target and knew Clint and Bucky were engaging. They all moved forward engaging the group ahead that was a mix of super soldiers and bio-enhanced individuals. Flipping a disk at a super soldier, she watched the electrical charge dissipate when it hit his chest. She fired the other one at his neck. When the disk hit a normal person it usually knocked them out, or at least disoriented them enough where she could easily finish the job. When the disk hit Steve or Bucky it still disoriented them, but not quite as much as an un-enhanced individual. Although they hadn't tired it, they had enough data to figure out if a disk hit Peter it would interfere with his Spidey Sense and his stickiness as well as probably incapacitate him for a few seconds.</p><p>The soldier she had just hit reacted more like Steve or Bucky would which meant they had tweaked the serum to overcome the electricity problem Peter had. Which also meant no stickiness and no Spidey sense. Natasha finished dealing with the soldier in front of her and looked to her left just in time to see Wong use some kind of something to lift one of the soldiers and send him crashing to the floor, knocking him out. She didn't have a clue how he or Stephen did the things they did, she was just satisfied that Wong could handle himself. She heard another whoosh of an arrow and turned to see the end sticking out of the back of another soldier. Bucky and Steve were both finishing with soldiers of their own. She tapped her com. "Looks like they removed the electrical problem. Expect them to fight more like Steve and Bucky."</p><p>Steve wiped a trickle of blood from his cheek. "But with Peter strength." He nodded at the rest of the group to continue. The soldiers weren't unstoppable but hand to hand was going to be harder than it usually was. "Anyone found Peter yet?" He heard negatives reporting from all teams and looked over at Natasha.</p><p>"We'll find him." She walked past him and headed further into the Vault.</p><p>xxxxxxxxx</p><p>Zeke walked into a makeshift workroom. He hadn't expected anyone to be there. Feeling the electricity pulsing in his fingers, he paused by a table. "How did you get out?"</p><p>Ross turned around. "I had a little help." His eyes darted briefly to the gun he had left in the table next to him. It and the cabinet of weapons behind him were the reason he was even in this particular lab.</p><p>Zeke's expression soured. He hadn't expected Peter to have been able to escape. He wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating him again.</p><p>"Zeke! Parker and Ross are gone!"</p><p>Zeke turned his head to see Basil running down the hall towards him radio in hand.</p><p>It was the opening Ross needed. He lurched towards the table and grabbed the gun. Turning, he emptied the clip in the direction of Zeke.</p><p>The first shot shattered the glass next to Zeke. Anger pulsed through him as he unleashed a stream of energy from his hands. The anger fed the energy but it also made it less targeted. Equipment surrounding Ross exploded, obscuring his view. Satisfied that if Ross wasn't already dead he would be soon, he backed out of the room. Stepping over Basil's body he walked down the hall with a single goal in mind. Find Parker. Find Stark. Kill them both</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Look What I Found</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Iron Man dropped down through one of the holes they had created on the surface and landed on the floor of of one of the upper subsurface levels, the rest of the aerial assault team landing behind him. "Sam, take Vision and Wanda. Meet up with Bobby's team. Rhodey and I will intersect Wyatt and Johnny." Knowing his instructions were being followed, he stalked off in the direction of Wyatt's transponder. There were only a few areas within the Vault that could truly hold Peter and Wyatt and Johnny happened to be closest to a couple of them. FRIDAY still couldn't distinguish the radiation signatures clearly enough to pinpoint Peter so he was having to rely on logic.</p><p>The radio chatter told them that all of the teams were still encountering resistance although their increased number meant that all of the confrontations were going in their favor. Tony had thought originally it was too much of a risk to have so many teams and so many people that hadn't worked together before. But the wisdom behind the overwhelming number had swayed both himself and Steve. So far, it was proving to be a good call. He just hoped it continued.</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Davis closed a portal behind him. To avoid having to fight them a second time, Bobby had set up an ice prison in one of the open areas. They knew how cold it had to be before Peter had a problem breaking it so they figured it should be able to hold the unconscious super soldiers. He and Jean had just deposited the last group. They had made it down to some of the lower levels but still no sign of Peter. This floor seemed to be made up of workrooms and lab space. He doubted they would find Peter here but the directive had been clear each floor. So that's what they were doing.</p><p>"Has one of the other teams already been here? This looks like a lot of damage." Scott looked around at debris littering the floor.</p><p>Bobby frowned. "We're the only ones on this level. Maybe it's left over from the breakout."</p><p>Logan shook his head. "This is fresh." He sniffed the air. "And there's people in there." He stepped over some of the debris leaving the rest of them to follow.</p><p>The group made their way further down the hall. Logan knelt down next to a body. "He's still breathing." He looked back at Davis. "Can you portal from here or do you need more clearance?"</p><p>Davis looked around, "More clearance. Some of this stuff seems like it's not exactly stable."</p><p>Logan reached down and picked up the unconscious lump, throwing him over his shoulder. He started to follow Davis back out of the debris when Bobby stopped him.</p><p>"Hang on." Tilting his head he looked at the unconscious figure. "I think that's Basil." He tapped is ear piece. "We just found Basil. Unconscious. Looks like he's wearing some kind of interface." He nodded to Davis to keep heading out.</p><p>Logan looked at the three remaining in the debris, "There's someone else in here. Why don't you wait until I get back."</p><p>"I think we can handle it." Scott looked down the hall. "We'll let you know what we find." He watched Logan and Davis walk away before heading deeper into the debris. Scott looked around him. It looked like the wall of one of the rooms had been disintegrated. He looked over at Jean who was staring down at a hand held device. It was helping them track the radiation emitting from the super soldiers as well as the transponders from the others. "Are you getting anything?"</p><p>Jean frowned and looked over at the room. "Massive amounts of radiation is being detected. It's not like a leak or something that would be harmful. More like 3 times the amount Tony was detecting before." She looked over at Scott. "It's like there should be 50 soldiers in there...but there's not."</p><p>Scott turned stepped into the room. "Ok...so let's see what's causing it."</p><p>Jean and Bobby entered behind him. Jean started moving debris around, clearing a path so they could see what was in the room. They finally had the first layer moved out of the way and could see a melted cabinet. "Wait, what is that?" Jean shifted some twisted metal out of the way. "I thought I saw a glint of red underneath."</p><p>Scott felt the urge to roll his eyes. Everything he saw was red. Leaning over he pulled what might have been a cabinet door out of the way and saw something that was distinctly shaped like a leg, it way larger than a human leg. "Maybe Abomination?" He felt Jean and Bobby tense behind him. He kept an eye on the unmoving leg as they continued to clear some of the debris.</p><p>"That's not what I remember the Abomination looking like." Bobby took a piece of metal from Scott. "I thought he was more...not red."</p><p>Scott shrugged and picked up another piece that was covering a shoulder. He stopped when he detected movement. "Jean, are you getting anything?"</p><p>Jean frowned. "A lot of confusion. Regret. Anger. Scott, step back." The anger was what bothered her the most. It was a deep seated anger that had taken root long ago.</p><p>Scott shook his head. He could tell that the other arm was trapped under some fused metal. Focusing his visor he shot a tight beam that broke up the metal, allowing him to remove it. He heard a gasp and felt Jean's hand on his shoulder, ready to pull him back if needed. The body shifted next to him, slowly pushing itself against a wall into a sitting position. "Are you ok?" Laughter was not what Scott expected to hear.</p><p>"I've been better." He focused on his hands in his lap. He had regained consciousness briefly before. He had hoped that it had been some trauma induced nightmare but the impossibly large red hands were still there, resting in an equally large red lap, tatters of his clothes remaining in places. He started laughing again.</p><p>"We can get you out of here and to safety. We can help you." Scott looked down into blue eyes that were a sharp contrast to the large face.</p><p>"Help me? You don't know who I am." He pushed himself up until his legs were under him and stood, head touching the top of the ceiling.</p><p>Scott stood up. "Doesn't matter."</p><p>He laughed again. "Tell Peter when you find him that the irony isn't lost on me." He was familiar enough with the island that he knew how to get off and where he could go until he could figure out what in the hell he was going to do. Stepping past the group in front of him, he punched a hole in the wall and left through it.</p><p>"Well, that was weird." Bobby crossed his arms and watched the figure retreat through walls. "Kinda what I imagine the Hulk to be like but not green and with more words."</p><p>Scott shook his head. It wasn't the first time someone had opted to go off on their own instead of accept what they offered. He knew it wouldn't be the last either. "Come on. Finding Peter is the objective."</p><p>xxxxxxxxxx</p><p>Peter cradled his wrist against his chest as he strained to hear. The problem was he could hear too much from too many different directions. He would love to have a com right now. Or his HUD. Or some nanobots. Or Dr. Cho. His wrist was aching which probably meant it needed to be set. The healing process only did so much. He had never gotten the knack of setting his own bones. He had watched Bucky put Nat's shoulder back into place once and it seemed horrible. He had no idea what needed to be moved where in his wrist so until he could get it set he'd have to deal with the ache.</p><p>"Can we please just try to get out of here?" Amanda did not understand why Peter wouldn't just leave.</p><p>"My friends are here. I need to find them so we can stop Zeke. And then stop Ross." Peter frowned and listened again. He thought he could hear a repulsor but he couldn't figure out which direction it was coming from.</p><p>"If you're just planning on stopping Ross, why did you let him out. Why not just let Zeke kill him?" Amanda frowned at Peter. She didn't understand anything that he did.</p><p>"I don't kill people." Peter started walking in the direction he thought the repulsors were coming from.</p><p>Amanda trailed after him. "You wouldn't have been killing him. Zeke would have been more than happy to do it."</p><p>"If I had left him there and Zeke killed him in his cell, I would have been responsible for his death. That's not something I want to live with. I fight the bad guys. I don't want to become them." Peter saw an opening ahead. Amanda has said that most of the stairwells were near the open areas. He thought he needed to be up a level.</p><p>Amanda slowed down and thought about what Peter was saying. She had spent her life either being hurt or hurting others. She didn't like the way either option made her feel. Zeke had cleaned her up and she thought maybe he was trying to save her but he ended up being worse than the rest. He had used the memory of her father to manipulate her, he had tried to tell her that she needed to be like her father. She barely remembered her father, but she needed to be like someone because she didn't like who she was. Maybe she could be like Peter and Johnny. It was an odd thought that sunk her deep into her head. She didn't realize how far ahead Peter had gotten until she saw him slow down at the opening of the room. Then she froze, the voice she had come to dread echoed through the empty hall.</p><p>"Look what I found."</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Final Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The portal Dr. Strange had created closed behind them. They had known they were stepping into the middle of a battle but neither Stephen nor Reed had truly appreciated the reason why Davis and Bobby's team had called for backup. They had all seen video of the Hulk over the years and in preparing for this mission they had been briefed on Abomination. Seeing him in person was completely different.</p>
<p>Ben, on the other hand, was completely ready for the fight. He launched himself out of the portal and entered the fray. Even with their large number, Abomination was formidable. He was, for the first time since the accident, thankfully for his rock hard skin after he took the first hit from Abomination. His rock hard skin meant that he could hit back. Which he did. Repeatedly. He was also incredibly thankful for the large number of super powered people in the fight with him. He realized rather quickly that he would never have been able to take Abomination in a fight. He waited for the lab table to drop on Abomination before following it with yet another punch.</p>
<p>Jean and Davis had fallen into a comfortable rhythm. Jean would levitate objects and Davis would create a portal that would drop them on Abomination. By itself it wasn't going to bring him down but it was distracting him long enough for someone else to attack. The problem was they were rapidly running out of items to drop. They were about to have to resort to throwing Bobby's discarded ice spears at him. Logan, Scott, and Bobby had all been able to do quite a bit of damage but they were all thankful when Ben, Reed, and Dr. Strange showed up. They were wearing Abomination down but it was going to take a while.</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Zeke watched Peter evaluate his situation. He knew Peter didn't have many options. "I can't believe you walked straight into me. You must have the worst luck on the planet." Zeke chuckled, continuing to watch Peter. While Peter was looking for a way out, Zeke was evaluating his target. He knew Peter's wrist was crushed but he was pretty sure he could still move fast and efficiently. No suit meant no dampeners. All he needed was to be able to land a shot and he could neutralize Peter and then they could go find Tony. He wanted to make sure Tony watched Peter die.</p>
<p>"Zeke, I don't understand why you hate me. You don't know me." Peter thought he could see sparks starting to flicker off of the tips of Zeke's fingers. He skirted the edge of the large room, taking inventory of his options, which were unfortunately limited. He wasn't sure what Zeke's range was, he just knew he needed to stay as far away as possible. He glanced up, the walls and ceiling were too far away which meant climbing wasn't an option.</p>
<p>"It's simple Peter. You have what I should have." Zeke inched closer to Peter, but not enough to make him run. He wanted to savor this.</p>
<p>"That's ridiculous Zeke. Killing me isn't going to suddenly give you whatever life you think you're supposed to have. From what I've seen you're incredibly smart. Use that to help people. Imagine what you could do."</p>
<p>Anger flowed through Zeke. "I know what I can do. I'm better than you are. Smarter, more capable." Zeke raised his hands and watched the electricity spark across his fingers. "By the time I was 14, I was designing bio weapons, not wandering off on field trips. By the time I was the age you are now, I had figured out how to upgrade myself so I wouldn't have to rely on clumsy armor. I will eventually make Stark tech obsolete, just like you and Tony already are." The sparks were growing more cohesive with Zeke's every word. "Imagine how perfect it was when I found out you couldn't tolerate electricity." The cohesive glow extended into a full energy blast. Zeke knew Peter couldn't move out of the way in time. He couldn't wait to hear him scream.</p>
<p>Amanda darted in front of Peter, taking the brunt of Zeke's energy blast. Dull red flames flickering across her body morphed into a brighter reddish orange as the energy was absorbed. She tilted her head and looked at Zeke. "Good thing all it does is feed my power then."</p>
<p>"Amanda...I always knew you would disappoint me." Zeke fired another energy blast towards them. He knew Amanda could take it but he also knew her stamina wouldn't allow her to keep it up. He, on the other hand had no such problem.</p>
<p>Peter watched Amanda's flame grow hotter and hotter with each barrage from Zeke. The flames that had been orangish red before were quickly turning pale white. He wasn't sure what her limits were. He glanced around the room. Right now, she was his only option and there wasn't much he could do to help. If he moved even a little he would be exposed to Zeke and getting hit wouldn't do either of them any good. He felt a change in pressure and glanced to his right as the air around him heated up even more. A grin spread across his face as Johnny landed next to Amanda and grasped her hand allowing some of the flames to transfer.</p>
<p>Peter glanced down at his chest as a modified nanohousing appeared and his spider suit started forming. A hand appeared, then slowly the rest of Sue Richards appeared. She smirked and tapped her com. "Tony, we've got him."</p>
<p>Peter could hear the sigh of relief through his com and smiled. He looked over at Wyatt who had made it over to his side. "Is there a plan to contain Zeke?"</p>
<p>"We're making this up as we go because someone had to go and get grabbed." Wyatt paused and grinned. "Good to see you Peter." He looked up as a whip-like tentacle sparking with electricity lashed over them. "What the hell was that?"</p>
<p>Peter's eyes followed the whip as it retracted and shot out again. Two of Zeke's bio enhanced cohorts had joined him, one of whom had whips extending from both arms. "What did he do, give everybody electrical upgrades?"</p>
<p>Wyatt grabbed his arm, "Come on. I'm supposed to get you out of here."</p>
<p>Peter turned to look at Wyatt. "Yeah, that's not happening." He looked at the transponder dots on his HUD. Based on their location he knew his dad and Rhodey would be there shortly. The number of transponder dots was much larger than he thought it should be. "How many people did you bring?"</p>
<p>"Uh..." Wyatt counted through the teams in his head. "20. Seriously, your dad is going to be pissed if you're not on the way out."</p>
<p>Peter tapped his com. "Dad, how far out are you and Rhodey?"</p>
<p>"Less than two minutes. We ran into some opposition. Why are you still here?" Tony had already run through the biometric date Karen had transmitted. He was relieved it was just the wrist. He also knew the broken wrist wouldn't be enough to get Peter to leave.</p>
<p>Peter could hear the sound of repulsors in the background. "The nanobots have braced it. We need to overload Zeke." He glanced at Johnny and Amanda. She was starting to look drained, even with Johnny taking most of the hits. "When you and Rhodey get here you need to come in hot and ramp your repulsors as high as they can go."</p>
<p>"Peter, you don't know if that'll work. His limits may be higher than our combined charge. Sit tight until your dad and I get there." Rhodey fired at the last super soldier, clearing their path.</p>
<p>"I'm planning on utilizing some help. Just do it. See you in 60." Peter looked over at Wyatt. "I'm not sure Amanda can take much more. I'll go high and create a diversion. Use what you have but also use them." He glanced over at Zeke and his two new friends. All three of them were putting off massive amounts of electricity.</p>
<p>Wyatt nodded and slipped two taser disks into his palms. He knew what Peter was trying to do. He hoped it was enough. He waited for Peter to flip up and web to the ceiling to propel him over Johnny and Amanda. Knowing Peter was combating the trio's combined forces he ran towards them. Their attention on refocusing on him, he slid between Zeke's two comrades, throwing taser disks at both of them.</p>
<p>Peter watched the disks land and momentarily incapacitate their targets. Taking advantage of it, Peter webbed the two whips and jerked them towards Zeke. Electricity flowing through the mechanical whip-like tentacles, they landed on Zeke, transferring their charge to him.</p>
<p>Recovering from the slide, Wyatt attacked the second guy from behind. His target's enhancements were a little more contained to one hand. Overpowering him he redirected the energy blasts towards Zeke.</p>
<p>Peter webbed the sparking appendages to Zeke, the energy flowing directly into him. Peter felt an energy blast from Zeke hit his shoulder. He was starting to wonder if Zeke even had an upper limit.</p>
<p>"Peter, your suit dampeners are not functioning at 100%. The last blast caused significant damage."</p>
<p>Zeke's blasts were getting stronger. "Karen, highest taser setting we have." He flipped out of the way, narrowly avoiding another blast. Zeke had quickly adjusted and had volleyed another blast forcing Peter to slide out of the way. He looked up from his position on his back on the floor and fired a taser web. The web landed on the back of Zeke's neck. Peter watched as Zeke's body froze momentarily, then started to turn towards Peter.</p>
<p>Peter readied another volley of taser webs. The temperature in the room was starting to feel uncomfortably hot. He glanced over at Johnny and Amanda. Amanda had collapsed and Sue had pulled her behind Johnny, who was still firing at Zeke. Peter looked back up at Zeke. The heat was definitely coming from him. Both hand were glowing a brilliant white. Letting loose the volley of taser webs, directed at Zeke's hands, Peter braced himself to get hit with another blast from Zeke.</p>
<p>A repulsor fired from behind. War Machine flew by Peter and landed in front of Wyatt and focused his repulsor on Zeke. Peter felt the floor vibrate as Iron Man landed hard in front of him taking the full blast from Zeke. Both repulsors fired at Zeke. Peter scrambled back and pushed himself up. He hadn't thought through what would happen if they managed to overload Zeke. He positioned himself between Iron Man and War Machine, ready for add tasers if needed when he saw Zeke fall to the ground.</p>
<p>Silence permeated the room as both sets of repulsors stopped firing. "FRIDAY..."</p>
<p>"All three targets have been neutralized and will require medical assistance."</p>
<p>Tony retracted his mask and helmet and looked at Peter. "You ok?"</p>
<p>Peter retracted his mask and looked at his dad, eyes freezing on the damage to the chest of the Iron Man suit. "Dad?!"</p>
<p>Tony looked down. The damage looked worse than it was. "The suit absorbed the energy. I'm fine." He reached over and cupped Peter's head, pulling him into a hug. "You ok?"</p>
<p>Peter tightened his good arm around the Iron Man suit and relaxed into the hug. "I'm good." Peter released his arm and stepped back to look at Zeke. "How are we containing him. There was no telling how much damage the overload caused but they didn't need to risk not containing him.</p>
<p>"SHIELD has a facility nearby already prepped." Tony stepped over one of the whip-like tentacles that had detached from Zeke when he overloaded.</p>
<p>Peter looked over at Johnny who had picked up Amanda. Wyatt tapped his com. "Davis, can you portal to us and then portal is to the compound?"</p>
<p>It didn't take long for a reply. "It's going to be a few minutes." Everyone could head the sounds of a fight. Steve's voice sounded through the coms. "Davis, we're on our way to you. Johnny, Wong is coming your way."</p>
<p>Peter activated his mask again. Bobby was just a couple floors up. He could be there in a less than a minute. He looked down when he felt an armor enclosed hand tap his chest and the Iron Spider suit retracted leaving only a metal brace around his lower arm and hand where the bones were broken. He looked over at his dad, "What are you doing?"</p>
<p>"Stopping you from being an idiot. You're going to the compound with Johnny." Tony glanced over where the portal was forming. Wong stepped through. He looked back down at Peter. "No arguments. I am too. I've got too many systems down. I think they can handle Abomination."</p>
<p>xxxxxxxxxx</p>
<p>Tony eased into the chair next to Peter's hospital bed. He wasn't sure if there was any part of his body that didn't hurt. Part of him would be happy to never put on the Iron Man suit again. Another part of him knew that he'd put it on any time Peter was in danger and knew if he was doing that he'd have to keep training which meant he'd have to keep putting on the suit.</p>
<p>It had come as a complete shock to Peter when Dr. Cho had informed him that she was going to have to surgically rebreak and then set his arm. Tony had already suspected that was going to be the case when he had retracted the Iron Spider and it had stayed formed around Peter's arm. The nanobots in both his armor and Peter's had a built in mandate to provide whatever emergency medical treatment was necessary. The spider was good, but not good enough to realign bones. It had happened a couple times before and Peter hated the process each time.</p>
<p>He had called Pepper and MJ when they had gotten to the compound. MJ would probably be here in the next 30 minutes but for right now he was just enjoying sitting with Peter. He turned his head when Dr. Cho walked in.</p>
<p>"He should be coming out of sedation soon." She handed Tony a pill and a glass of water and waited for him to take it. "Your suit did a good job absorbing the energy blast but your heart can only take so much."</p>
<p>Tony swallowed the pill. He was very much aware that taking the full hit of energy from Zeke hadn't been a good move for his heart but the alternative wasn't good for his heart either. He'd upgrade his suit's dampeners to the level of Peter's. He had also been playing around with reallocating the energy to the repulsors in his suit. He might be able to do something similar to Peter's, although Peter has never wanted repulsors. He'd figure something out. "How's Amanda?"</p>
<p>"Physically she'll be fine. Professor Xavier is talking to her now. She's had a hard life and there's a lot of damage to repair." Helen glanced down at Peter. "Call me if he needs anything. The rest of them have started portaling back in. No other serious injuries." She knew Tony already knew this because of FRIDAY. Retreating, she left Tony where she had left him multiple times before...sitting next to Peter's bed.</p>
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